Reader Letters | JCPS lunches

Kudos to JCPS dietitians for adding fruits and veggies to local school lunches.

Since most children emulate their parents' food likes and dislikes, why not have representatives available at local supermarkets on Saturdays or Sundays once a month to give out samples? Family members and shoppers could try the new foods as the kids watch and maybe, just maybe, if the parents like the taste, the kids will try the new foods. At least the parents will have an idea of WHY their kids may not want kale chips, for instance.

Children are at the mercy of their families when it comes to home food choices and what may or may not be offered at home.

Seldom do children shop for food for home meals. They eat what their family cooks - wholesome or not. Good nutrition and exercise are so important in school. Let's let our kids have a "taste" of both so they can grow up healthy and wise, enjoying a variety of today's good food choices.

MARTHA KOENIG HERP

Louisville 40205 -

Pension crisis

One of the most important news stories appearing recently in The Courier-Journal involves the underfunded Kentucky Retirement System pension plan and the support by some to issue bonds to provide money to shore up the plan. These bonds would only deal with pensions covering state and municipal workers in the state and the state police. It would not deal with the pensions of teachers and justice system employees.

According to the Courier, "the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, which has been the most outspoken in its support of bonding, has proposed a plan to borrow $4.3 billion. Dan Doonan, a labor economist for AFSCME, said Kentucky could borrow at 4 percent or 4.5 percent interest on a 30-year term and put the money in KRS investments that have an assumed rate of return of 7.75 percent. That rate is the amount that KRS actuaries believe investments can earn in the market over the long term. Doonan projects that the bond issue would require up to $266 million in annual debt service but could save $163 million each year if the rate of return meets predictions."

Well, that's a big if, when 10-year U.S. Treasuries are yielding about 1.5 percent. One of the problems with most state and local retirement systems is the assumed long-term rate of return on investments. New York, for example, uses 8 percent. In order to meet this target, retirement system officials have invested more and more assets in hedge funds, risky derivatives, foreign currencies and non-investment-grade bonds. Indeed, one of the problems the Kentucky system has is dealing with the $1 billion in losses incurred on risky investments in the last year. Such investments include CMOs, swaps, non-rated non-investment-grade bonds, the Chinese yuan, the euro and the yen. Issuing bonds to fund an underfunded pension plan is something that has to be fully debated.

However, the first thing that needs to be done is to analyze the actuarial assumptions used by the state and recast the financial statements using more realistic assumptions especially as to projected investment rates of return to find out how big the pension asset hole really is. The second step is to start limiting the risk associated with hedge fund investments, derivatives, foreign currencies and non-investment-grade bonds in the assets backing up state pensions. The third step is to include the teachers and justice system pensions in the fix. It is amazing that our government leaders of both parties have allowed this to happen. We can start dealing with the problem now or we can just kick the can down the road again and let our kids and grandkids deal with it.

CHRIS E. CORRIE

Louisville 40245 -

Change plan

If Kentucky taxpayers ever wanted to know the difference between defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution pension plans, the front page article in the C-J on Sept. 2 provided the clues. The answer is $30 billion - money that the taxpayers will have to fund to make Kentucky's defined benefit pension plans whole. Clearly, Kentucky, one of the poorest states in the country, can ill afford to offer defined benefit plans to its employees. Yet, the state continues to debate the issue.

How can a $30 billion shortfall fail to convince the legislature and the governor that defined benefit plans have not been a grave, ongoing mistake for the state and its taxpayers? The social justice argument for this issue falls on the side of the taxpayer. If one of government's major roles is to protect the least of our citizens from the vagaries of our economy, then why is the relatively poor average Kentuckian absorbing the investment risk of these pension plans? If the legislature and the administrations have chosen to underfund pension costs in 14 of the last 21 years, then clearly they do not take their pension promises very seriously. The time is now to change Kentucky's pension plan structure.

DONALD J. ZEILLMANN

Louisville 40299 -

Bridge stalling

River Fields' recent attempt to stall the East End Bridge through more litigation is hardly surprising; but that they would again choose to involve the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the process is worrisome. The National Trust has to be aware of the original reason they became involved - providing the Drumanard Estate with a special landmark designation so that a tunnel would have to be built - was not valid from the start. The assumption that an Olmsted design was endangered has proved not to be the case, based on documents in the National Archives. The National Trust should have done their research on this site before letting themselves be used by River Fields in the first place. To continue to support this effort only adds a black eye to their already tarnished reputation.

STANLEY COLLYER

Louisville 40205 -

VA hospital site

I was at the intersection of Brownsboro Road and the Watterson Expressway at 3 p.m. The traffic was heavy. It was annoying but endurable. I was at the same intersection again at 4:30 p.m. The situation can only be described as a snarl. This is not an isolated event. Has anyone involved in the VA hospital decision actually been to this intersection? Perhaps, Mr. Blue, the former owner of the property, could fund an overpass or heli-pad with his exorbitant profits so the rest of the community can function in this neighborhood. My sympathies to those who actually live there.

TINKA TINGLE

Louisville 40204 -

Republican bashing

To the recent letter-writer who wrote about "Republican bashing:" As a recent transplant from New York, I may be one of those liberals you are talking about, but I haven't noticed any bashing going on in the Courier, simply fair reporting. Frankly, what comes out of the mouth of Mitch McConnell is sheer admitted obstruction and I'm guessing he must be your hero? If you love this position so much, just vote for Romney and Ryan.

As for newspapers, what are you talking about? Try The New York Times, L.A. Times, Chicago Trib, Washington Post, or cross the ocean and try The Guardian. The Wall Street Journal is now completely conservative - try that. But for fair reporting, you lose - thank God for the Courier, the only sensible news in the rotten red state of Kentucky, unfair, often subtly racist in huge numbers. Frightening.

DAVID G. REED

Louisville 40207 -

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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Reader Letters | JCPS lunches

Since most children emulate their parents' food likes and dislikes, why not have representatives available at local supermarkets on Saturdays or Sundays once a month to give out samples? Family